The open water swimming competition of the 2017 FINA World Championships will start on 15 July with the men’s 5k race. This event has been on the programme of the world championship since 1998 and the German swimmers have won 7 of the 15 editions, no other country has dominated a specific men’s event in open water swimming like that. But both of the last two 5k events at the world championships were won by an African swimmer. In 2013 Tunisian Oussama Mellouli was crowned, two years later South African Chad Ho was the fastest. Ho will compete on Saturday, he could be the first swimmer, who can retain his title since 2011. The home crowd can support two talented, young swimmers, Kristóf Rasovszky and Márk Papp.

· Defending champion Chad Ho (RSA) can become the third swimmer to win the world title in the men's 5km event multiple times, after Thomas Lurz (GER, 7) and Luca Baldini (ITA, 2).

· Ho also took bronze in 2009 and only Lurz (9), Baldini (4), Spyridon Gianniotis (GRE, 3) and Evgeny Drattsev (RUS, 3) have won more medals in the men's 5km than Ho's two.

· If Ho finishes second he will become the first to complete the medal set in this event.

· Oussama Mellouli (TUN) won the world title in 2013 and the men's 5km open water could become the first of any aquatics event at the World Championships to have been won by three times by African swimmers.

· Marcus Herwig (GER) or Ruwen Straub (GER) could hand Germany its eighth gold medal in this event. It has so far won seven of the 15 editions.

· No other country have won more than these seven gold medals in a specific men's event in Open Water Swimming.

· Germany (12) leads all countries on most medals in the men's 5km event, ahead of Russia (9) and Italy (9). Lurz has accounted for nine of Germany's 12 medals.

· Simone Ruffini (ITA, 2016) and Jack Burnell (GBR, 2015) won the last two world cup races in Lake Balaton. In the world cup, races are a 10km event.

· Neither Great Britain nor Netherlands or France has ever won a world championship medal in the men's 5km event.

Russia has won most gold, most silver and most bronze medals in all open water events at World Championships: G26-S22-B21.

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